Are you arguing with a bot? Here's how to know.

So, you live and breathe online and couldn't be happier about it. But maybe, just maybe, your daily digital interactions across the social web aren't quite as authentic as you thought. 

No, this time around it's not the algorithm's fault, but rather the result of a different kind of bad actor mucking up the works: bots. The automated scourge has invaded practically every platform you love, and isn't going anywhere any time soon. But you can fight back.

Despite what basically any quick scan of Twitter or Facebook might suggest, however, the surest way to beat the bots isn't to argue with them. Rather, it's to see them for what they are — manufactured fictions designed to manipulate both you and the larger conversation in order to further unknown (and sometimes known) agendas. Read more...